


It's Next Year

by JoMouse



Series: New Year [4]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Vacation, Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Don't copy to another site, Fluff, M/M, New Year's Eve, New Year's Fluff, New Year's Kiss, New Year's Resolutions, New Years, Vacation, Vacation AU, Wedding Fluff, Wedding Night, Weddings, drunk driving (mentioned), surprise wedding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-10-01 21:40:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17251868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoMouse/pseuds/JoMouse
Summary: After surprising their families and friends with a wedding, Zayn and Liam return to the Isle of Wight for their annual New Year's Eve celebration. They meet a new friend on the way.





	It's Next Year

**Author's Note:**

> First off, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!
> 
> Once again, here I am with a fic written in just over a day to celebrate the New Year. The difference between this year and last year is that I had absolutely no clue what I was going to write, but I'm pretty happy with what came about and I hope you are, too.
> 
> I am going to be perfectly honest with you, this would not have been written at all if Chris (Laziam) hadn't asked me about it a few weeks ago. I also have to give big thanks to Toni (sunnysideup) for answering my five million questions about getting married in London. Extra big thanks to my betas, Jenn and Cristina, for the last minute beta, I'm sure that wasn't how they planned to spend their New Year's Eve.
> 
> As of right now, I don't plan to continue this series next year, but who knows, things might change.
> 
> Best wishes to all of you for a wonderful 2019 aka 20-bi-teen! May all of your dreams come true.
> 
> Who knows...maybe this will be the year I actually finish one of my novels. ;)
> 
> Again, Happy New Year!
> 
> xx-Joey
> 
> Don't know 'em. Don't own 'em. Don't show 'em.

Liam and Zayn stopped outside the car, waving to the small gathering of their families and closest friends standing outside of Keats House. Sharing a kiss as they heard their sisters cooing and several snaps from the photographer they hired, they ducked into the back of the car taking them back to their flat. As soon as they arrived, they waved off the driver, thanking him for his service for the day and tipping him nicely. 

Holding hands and laughing, they hurried up the stairs to their flat where they quickly changed out of their suits and into casual clothing, sneaking quick kisses as they did so. “It went well,” Zayn said, laughing. Their dogs Loki and Rhino, raced around their feet, picking up on their emotions and making the flat even noisier than usual.

“Everyone was surprised,” Liam agreed.

“Not entirely. Our mums always knew we’d get married on New Year’s Eve, I just don’t think they were expecting us to spring it on them this year,” Zayn pointed out.

It had been Zayn’s idea to invite everyone to brunch at Keats House under the guise of celebrating the New Year before he and Liam headed to the cottage on the Isle of Wight to have their own celebration, a tradition they’d be sharing for the fourth year that night. What they’d neglected to tell anyone was that before lunch was served, Liam and Zayn would be getting married.

They’d arrived early to ensure everything was in proper order. Once they’d gotten done discussing the agenda with Mrs.Charlotte “Call me Charlie” Davidson, the registrar for the day, they stood around nervously. Although they both knew getting married was the right thing, they weren’t sure how their families and friends would have reacted to a surprise wedding.

Liam’s parents had been the first to arrive, the rest of the guests showing up over the following hour. Everyone was greeted with hugs and mimosas. Zayn and Liam had shared soft smiles and secretive winks as everyone had teased them about Liam’s pocket square matching Zayn’s multicoloured shirt. Liam’s sister, Roo, had called them twins despite Liam’s suit being blue and Zayn’s black.

After Zayn’s older sister had darted into the room, the last guest to arrive, Liam had stood and tapped the side of his glass to get everyone’s attention. He’d tipped his head at Zayn, knowing the man wanted to start the announcement. 

“I know several of you were surprised by today’s invitation because Liam and I have chosen to spend the past several New Year’s alone.”

“Well, I didn’t choose that first year,” Liam had chimed in, laughing when Zayn bumped their shoulders together and his friends had the decency to look embarrassed for blowing him off four years previous.

“Are you complaining?” Zayn had teased and Liam had shaken his head in the negative with a smile on his face. After exchanging a quick kiss, Zayn had turned back to their guests and continued. “Don’t be mistaken, in a couple of hours, we are on our way to the Isle of Wight to ring in the New Year the same way we have since the day that we met.” He’d smiled at Liam and gave a nod.

“Before we do that, we wanted to share a special moment with all of you,” Liam had spoken as Charlie had appeared at the table behind them. “This is Charlie and she’s here to marry us.”

The crowd had gasped and their mums had cried, but the ceremony had been very quick. By the time they’d exchanged vows and rings, there wasn’t a dry eye in the room. When they’d kissed, everyone had stood and applauded. The rest of the brunch had gone quickly and they’d had to promise both of their families a longer celebration when they returned from their three-week honeymoon which would begin and end at the cottage on the Isle.

Liam wrapped his arms around Zayn in a hug as they reminisced about the day before they looked at the clock and raced for the door, both dogs on their leads. The trip to the cottage was only a few hours, but the excitement of the day took their toll and Zayn fell asleep, Rhino snoozing in his lap, head against the window before they’d even gotten to the ferry. Pressing a kiss to his forehead, Liam exited the car to stand against the railing to overlook the water, Loki in his arms. 

His mind went back to the previous year and riding the ferry to the island, talking to the woman who had known Zayn and his first husband, Dax. He remembered being full of nerves, the engagement ring burning a hole in his pocket and the laughter that followed when he discovered Zayn had one of his own doing the same. Any doubts he’d had over proposing disappeared when Zayn had done it right back to him.

After they’d gotten back to London from the Isle, they’d moved everything from their individual flats into the one they’d purchased together. Although they’d practically been living together for months, there was an adjustment period when they didn’t have anywhere to go to escape each other when things got tense. Instead of running, they’d learned to deal with their problems together and eventually life fell into a routine for them.

Then on a random Monday in June, for whatever reason had possessed both of them, they’d each returned home with a dog in their arms. Liam had picked up Loki from a pet adoption day in the park near his publisher’s office. Zayn had found Rhino starving and cold in an alley behind the diner near his workplace. Of course, neither of them could say no to either dog and their home and routine were disrupted, but Liam couldn’t find even one single reason to be unhappy about the growth of their family.

He could see the dock when Zayn and Rhino joined them at the railing. “Penny for your thoughts,” he said.

“Not worth that much,” Liam told him with a grin. “Just thinking about the day we got these two.” He laughed as Loki licked at his chin and Rhino attacked his shoelaces.

“Regrets?”

“Not a one.” He set Loki down to play with Rhino and wrapped an arm around Zayn, pulling him to his side.

“Doggies!” They turned to spy a little boy, around five years old, with a mass of bright red curls on his head toddling towards them, arms out and fingers making “gimme” motions as he kept squealing.

Both dogs tugged on their leads, wanting to get to the boy, but sat with a sharp command from Liam, who squatted down between them holding a hand out to the boy who stumbled at the last minute and crashed into Liam, knocking him to the ground.

“Vaughn!” a woman was shouting as she weaved between vehicles.

Liam was laughing from where he was flat on his back on the cold deck of the ferry, the dogs and little boy crawling all over him. Zayn shook his head fondly as the woman reached them. “Vaughn, leave the nice men alone,” she said, reaching for the boy, but getting Rhino’s collar instead. “I am so sorry,” she said, her head going between Zayn and Liam.

“It’s not a problem,” Zayn assured her. “I’m pretty sure my husband is having the time of his life.” A shiver went through him at those words.  _ My husband. _

Liam managed to untangle himself from the leads, pushing to his feet and picking up the little boy with him. The boy turned his attention from the dogs to the beard on Liam’s face as Liam settled him on his hip. “Hey, little man. You like our doggies?” The little boy nodded.

“I am truly sorry,” the woman said again, reaching for Vaughn who snuggled harder into Liam. “My name is Penelope Hotchkiss. I’m a social worker and this little guy is Vaughn Reid. We’re on our way to the Isle for him to spend some time with a possible forever family.”

“I might get a new mama and papa,” Vaughn mumbled.

“Is that right?” Liam asked, tickling his tummy making the boy throw his head back and laugh.

Zayn watched, looking at Penelope when she squeezed his arm. She was watching the scene in front of her as well, a smile on her face and her eyes a bit glassy. “That’s the first time I’ve heard him laugh,” she whispered, more to herself than to Zayn.

“What happened?” Zayn asked quietly.

“He lost his parents last New Year’s,” she explained. “We’ve been trying to place him for a year, but he’s still mourning so it’s not easy because people want a happy kid.”

Zayn swallowed hard. “H...h-ow...how did they…” He struggled to get the words out, glad when she took pity on him.

“Car accident. Drunk driver. He was home with the babysitter. He’s got no other family,” she told him, face paling when she looked at Zayn. “Are you alright?”

Zayn nodded, but all he could think about was Dax. About waking up in the hospital to discover he’d lost the love of his life. He couldn’t even begin to think how he would have felt in Vaughn’s place, losing his entire family. He stepped over to Liam who was still talking to the boy but watching Zayn.

“Hey, buddy,” Zayn said, smiling as the boy turned to him and put his hands on his cheeks.

“Are you sad?” Vaughn asked.

Zayn shook his head. “Nah. I’m super happy because I married this guy today,” Zayn told him.

“Can I play with the doggies some more?” Vaughn asked and Liam set him down, handing the leads to Zayn when he knelt down.

Zayn played with the boy and the dogs until the horn sounded to let them know they needed to return to their vehicles. Vaughn hugged the dogs and Zayn before hurrying over to Liam and hugging his legs as he talked to Penelope. “Bye bye!” he called out as Penelope took his hand and lead him away.

“Cute kid,” Liam said and Zayn nodded.

“Sad story,” Zayn replied.

They returned to the car, the dogs laying down in the back seat as soon as they were inside. Zayn stared out the window as Liam drove, both of them quiet and in their own thoughts. This part of the trip was quiet the year before, but silence between them was nearly always comfortable so it was alright. As they pulled up to the cottage, Zayn looked at the clock on the dash.

“We’re pushing it,” he said, the numbers reading eight o’clock.

“Four hours, babe,” Liam responded, laughing. “Why don’t you go in and get settled and I’ll swing by the shops for food and supplies.”

Zayn nodded, letting the dogs out and watching them run to the front door. He grabbed the bags out of the boot and headed towards the house, stopping when Liam whistled loudly. Looking over his shoulder, he laughed at Liam hanging out the window of the car. “I love you, husband!”

“I love you, too, you nutter!” Zayn yelled back, shaking his head as he watched Liam drive away.

Letting himself into the cottage, he let the dogs race around, sniffing everything. It wasn’t their first time at the cottage; they’d actually managed to make several trips that year so the dogs were familiar with the nooks and crannies and there was even a sealed bin of dog food under the sink.

He fed the dogs and then took the bags into the bedroom. He didn’t bother unpacking because they were leaving for Ibiza the next morning. They’d be staying there for a week before flying to Miami for a week and then finally returning to the Isle for the last week of their honeymoon. Zayn was excited to have Liam all to himself for three weeks. He picked up his phone and texted the kennel on the Isle where they would be boarding the pups while they were gone to verify the reservation.

Liam got back to the house after about a half hour. He didn’t buy much since they wouldn’t be staying, but he had enough to make dinner for that night and breakfast the next morning. He looked over at the white roses wrapped in silver paper lying on the passenger seat. He remembered the roses he had left at the front door of the cottage the second year he’d been there. As he drove down the street, he slowed as he saw a family walking down the street. A man walking a dog and a woman pushing a pram. Hanging onto the pram was a familiar little boy who walked with his head down looking at his feet. 

Liam jumped when someone honked behind him, realizing he’d nearly slowed to a stop, he pushed the accelerator and headed back to the cottage, one hand going into his jacket pocket and fingering the business card he’d slipped inside. He looked in the rearview mirror as the family faded into the distance hoping that Vaughn was having a good time and the couple would decide to keep him, even if he wasn’t always happy.

Zayn greeted him at the door, taking half of the bags and heading into the kitchen. Working together and singing along with the radio, they cooked dinner. Once the chicken cordon bleu was in the oven and the vegetables were steaming, Liam pulled Zayn into his arms and they danced in the kitchen together.

“We don’t have a song,” Zayn said suddenly.

“We don’t need a song,” Liam argued back, smiling. “All the songs are our song because every song that comes on the radio makes me think of you and how happy I am that I stumbled across you sitting in the sand that first year.”

“Not as happy as I am that you came back the next,” Zayn countered. He moved away to check on the vegetables and started pulling plates out of the cupboards. “We should eat at the table this year, I think.”

Liam nodded, reaching for glasses and helping to set the small table in the breakfast nook. He stumbled as Rhino raced underfoot, a squeaker toy in his mouth. Liam froze in place until Loki had raced past in pursuit of Rhino and the toy despite the fact there were at least ten other toys scattered around the cottage.  _ “It’s almost like having kids,” _ he thought.

After they were finished eating, they washed dishes together getting into a soap suds fight that ended when Zayn splashed Liam with a pan full of water. After cleaning up the kitchen together, they showered, together to conserve water of course. When Liam stepped into the bedroom, a towel wrapped around his waist, he smiled at the matching pajamas laid out on the bed. Zayn had bought them matching pajamas the year before and it seemed this was going to be another tradition for the two of them.

He was pulling the shirt over his head when Zayn came out of the bathroom. He had one towel tied around his waist and was using another to dry his hair. His face was covered by towel so he managed to trip over Loki, luckily Liam’s reflexes were fast enough to catch him. Both towels falling to floor and Liam waggled his eyebrows at Zayn, earning a swat to the shoulder and a laugh.

“It’s almost midnight, wanker,” Zayn told him as he hurried into his pajamas, forgoing pants, which just made Liam tug them down to get a look at his arse and earning another swat. “Go get the champagne! And try not to spill!”

Liam huffed. He’d only spilled twice out of the three years they’d spent here, so he had a pretty good record going, but he would be very careful since they had finally replaced the carpet that year. Eventually, he would tell Zayn that he had the two champagne-stained squares of carpet stored away in the closet.

Opening the bottle in the kitchen, just in case, he was pleased when he didn’t spill. He carried it and two flutes carefully into the sitting room, watching as Zayn moved the clock from the mantle to the table as he’d done each year. It was five minutes to midnight as they finally settled into the sofa, curled together.

“Resolutions?” Liam asked, falling easily into the mood and banter that they’d shared on this very sofa in this very room.

Zayn looked thoughtful. “I want to make a difference,” he said after a few moments. “I want to do something to help someone or lots of someones.” His mind went back to Vaughn, wondering what Liam would think if he brought up the idea of becoming foster parents, or even just parents. He opened his mouth to ask but shut it before a sound could escape. “You?” he finally asked.

“I think that’s a good one. Is it possible to share a resolution?” Liam asked, reaching down to scratch between Loki’s ears. “We could help more people if we put our minds together.” He thought about the business card again, wondering if he should tell Zayn he had asked for Penelope’s card and given her his own just in case things didn’t work out for Vaughn and the family he was visiting for the holiday.

The clock clicked to one minute to midnight and Zayn moved to straddle Liam’s lap as he’d done every year until now. Pressing their foreheads together, he looked into Liam’s eyes, trying to push his thoughts into his brain. He loved this man and after losing Dax, he’d thought he’d never love, let alone get married, again. Now here he was in love, married, and happy and all he could think is he wanted to share the love with a child or children.

“Do you want kids?” Liam burst out, slapping a hand over his mouth, eyes wide. Zayn snorted as he tried to send more thoughts into Liam’s head to see if it had actually worked. “Sorry,” he muttered.

“No apologies,” Zayn told him. “Please don’t.” He glanced at the clock and smiled. “Let’s table this conversation until next year because...10...”

Liam nodded. “9…”

“But yes, I want kids. 8...”

Liam’s grin widened. “7...”

Zayn brushed their noses together. “6...”

“I got Penelope’s card. 5…”

Zayn’s jaw dropped and he leaned back. “4…?”

Liam shrugged. “In case it doesn’t work out for Vaughn. 3…”

Tears sprang to Zayn’s eyes. “2…” he choked out.”

Liam’s own eyes shone as he leaned closer and they breathed out in unison, “1...Happy New Year!” before pressing their lips together in a gentle kiss.

When the kiss broke, Zayn snuggled into his arms, thinking over Liam’s words and imagining Vaughn there with them as they brought in the next new year. He was pretty sure the boy would be out cold, but he would still be sure that he and Liam would give him kisses at midnight. The more he thought about it, the more his heart knew that was something he wanted. He also knew they needed to talk about it and he went back over their conversation in his mind as Liam pressed kisses to the side of his neck.

“You know, it’s next year,” he told Liam, putting his hands on his cheeks and forcing him to look at him, loving the moment that his words sank in and they began to seriously talk about expanding their family again.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Come on over and say 'hi' to me on [tumblr](http://josjournal.tumblr.com) or [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/JolynnMG)!


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